Cranfield School of Management is Europe’s first university to deliver executive development courses in Saudi Arabia in Arabic. Eight academics including two executive education specialists from Cranfield’s Center for Customised Executive Development, Doc McKerr and Imran Zawwar, traveled to Madinah to teach over 100 business leaders, almost half of whom were women, about the fundamentals of business leadership and transforming knowledge into action in the workplace.
Initiated by Namaa Al Munawara, a local non-profit think-tank, Cranfield’s Executive Leadership program attracted middle managers and senior leaders from small companies and public sector organizations.
Prince Faisal bin Salman, governor of Madinah, set up Namaa Al Munawara with the aim to transform Madinah into a hub of growing SMEs and to develop it as a “City of Knowledge” which has a positive impact, economically and commercially, both in the local area and across the country.
During the two-week program, delegates gained an in-depth insight into core business topics such as strategy, innovation, operational excellence, business finance, leadership and corporate use of social media, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to help drive their organization.
Samar Showail, a manager in the Saudi banking industry, said: “I have been on these types of courses before. However, this course is more sophisticated and really puts knowledge into practice. The whole experience has been unique; the networking, in particular, was valuable because we had the opportunity to meet people from different backgrounds and industries. This meant that we could share our challenges and ideas and learn from one another.”
The program was funded by the Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF), which is responsible for developing local business leaders to meet the country’s mission of evenly spreading the economy’s reliance across industries including education and commerce, rather than solely on oil, by 2030.
Ranked among the top 10 business schools worldwide for customised executive development, and first in the world for international reach, Cranfield’s Center for Customised Executive Development delivers open and customised programs to over 40 clients each year. Over 75 percent of these courses welcome participants from across the globe.

Source: Arab News